Independent George wrote:Should I give up, or are there any trucks out there which actually give a decent value? Haute Sausage parks near my office all the time - is it worth the $7 price tag?

It's pretty good, not great and you certainly won't be stuffed with just one. The sausages are about the size of a standard hotdog. They sell 1/2 portions they call shorties - I'd at least get a full sausage plus a shortie (and I'm not a real big eater).

zoid wrote:It's pretty good, not great and you certainly won't be stuffed with just one. The sausages are about the size of a standard hotdog. They sell 1/2 portions they call shorties - I'd at least get a full sausage plus a shortie (and I'm not a real big eater).

I guess that leads to the question of why, then, should anyone buy from a food truck aside from novelty?

I had such high hopes for food trucks in Chicago. On paper, the advantages of the food truck should be:

1. Lower fixed costs result in savings passed on to the consumer.2. Specialized offerings result in higher quality products.

In practice, what I've observed are high prices, small portions, and often inferior quality to the fast food joints one block away. What am I missing?

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"I've always thought pastrami was the most sensuous of the salted cured meats."

I'll admit for me novelty is a big part of it. I've been in the same damn building downtown for years and frankly I'll try anytying new at least once at this point. Luckily there have been new places cropping up pretty frequently as of late.

Plus I hold out hope that one day I'll stumble across something special.

Lillie's Q now has their truck operating and is currently parking it in a parking lot at 28 N Franklin (west side, bet. Washington and Madison) for the next couple of weeks. Pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwich, choice of a sauce, and choice of slaw or baked beans, $10 including the tax.

Something they got right that is a problem for many trucks: they do not have the meat already on the bun -- the bun is saran-wrapped and the meat comes separately in a plastic tub to assemble yourself (or to ignore the bun entirely if you don't want the bun). This avoids the soggy bread issue that a fair number of food trucks seem to have.

AdmVinyl wrote:Lillie's Q now has their truck operating and is currently parking it in a parking lot at 28 N Franklin (west side, bet. Washington and Madison) for the next couple of weeks. Pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwich, choice of a sauce, and choice of slaw or baked beans, $10 including the tax.

Something they got right that is a problem for many trucks: they do not have the meat already on the bun -- the bun is saran-wrapped and the meat comes separately in a plastic tub to assemble yourself (or to ignore the bun entirely if you don't want the bun). This avoids the soggy bread issue that a fair number of food trucks seem to have.

I tried Lillie's Q food truck on Friday and also enjoyed that the meat came separately packaged from the bun. Pulled pork was excellent and the Carolina vinegar sauce complimented the pork well. The bun was just ok, but not sure what else you can really do with it given the current food truck regulations. Cole slaw was decent, better on the sandwich than on its own. Will definitely be back, was the best experience I have had with food truck dining so far.

One day at the end of December I was hanging around in Bridgeport and lucked into meeting Jay and Carrie, owners of Bridgeport Pasty Co. I got to sample a test batch of pasties and thought they were very good. The big chunks of beef and butter crust impressed me. I look forward to following the progress of the Pastymobile. From what I understand they will have no storefront but their pasties may be available in local coffee shops etc.

We tested 3 types of pasties from their truck at the Hideout Block Party this weekend and enjoyed all three;Chicken Pot Pie-- the "gravy" was solid, so was suitable for festival-style eating and didn't dribble down your arm. This one was devoured by my kid, so I didn't get a chance to try it.Beef and Stilton-- Big chunks of beef (as noted) and just the right amount of blue cheese (tasty but not overwhelming).The Oinkle-- My favorite, bits of sausage, potato, and apple. Delicious with the buttery crust.

For the crust, I can't make an informed comparison to traditional pasties, but this crust was soft and buttery, quite thick (especially around the edges)-- it was a little crisp, but not crispy, if that makes sense. Great festival food, I recommend this truck-- plus (also as noted above), all they have to do is hand you the (warm) pasty in a bag-- quick service means no long lines.

Last night Evanston's Starlight Concerts included a Food Truck Festival, with 9 trucks. When we got there about forty minutes after they opened, 5411 Empanadas was just about out, and left a few minutes later. We sampled offerings from Pierogi Wagon, Tamale Spaceship, Sweet Ride Chi (Cupcakes), and Baby Cakes.

Baby Cakes was a disappointment: Mushroom/Gorgonzola pancakes were pre-made and kept warm in a hotbox. If they'd been fresh off the griddle, I might have been impressed, but the gorgonzola wasn't particularly melty, not a lot of mushrooms. 3 mid-sized pancakes for $5.

Pierogi Wagon's offerings were very good (but a really slow line -- bring cash, people!). By the time I got to the front, they were down to just cheddar/potato and spinach/cheese (and they closed up a few minutes later). The potato ones, topped with onions, bacon and sour cream were outstanding. $8 for 6 doesn't seem to be too bad a price, except that I could have wolfed down a couple servings of this (instead of sharing with SueF). They also served a very good lemonade ($2).

Tamale Spaceship's Luchador servers were just barely faster... and they had the longest line after the Empanadas left. Two very tasty, large beef tamales with a tomatillo salsa. $8 for two big tamales with a separate tub of salsa -- an outrageous price compared to pushcart vendors, but a good deal for a downtown lunch.

Sweet Ride Chi's salted caramel cupcake was only OK at $5.

Other vendors included Chicago Cupcake, Grill Chasers, Hummingbird Kitchen, Taquero Fusion (there was one more to total 9, but I don't remember who it was). I think only Grill Chasers and Hummingbird were cooking on site, but I'm not sure even they were -- it looked like mostly precooked food all around.

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What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang

I had the grilled veggies sandwich from Jack's Fork in the Road truck the other day. Described on their website as "grilled veggies with sundried-olive tapanade & goat cheese portobello, sweet pepper, zucchini, caramel onions, sundried-olive tapanade & goat cheese," it was enough to last me two lunches and was even better on the second day. Larger appetites would have no problem eating it in one sitting. They were on Wacker and Adams on Wednesday, along with Da Lobsta, La Cocinita, the Roost and Chicago Cupcake. I'll see Fork in the Road out again.

I've been working on a project where I try to eat at every taco truck in the City of Des Moines. There is a lot of same-ness but some good stuff is to be found if you look hard enough. There is nothing like getting birria from a renovated Winnebago on East 14th St, or maybe there is, I dunno?